


Better Than Love

by lazy_daze



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-17
Updated: 2012-09-17
Packaged: 2017-11-14 11:37:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/514821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazy_daze/pseuds/lazy_daze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alpha!Liam/omega!Louis, with heat, self-lubrication, and knotting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Than Love

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY SO. This is: Alpha/Beta/Omega-verse. Alpha!Liam/omega!Louis, with heat, self-lubrication, and knotting. Woo! Warning for the slight dub-con inherent in heat!fic, but overall this is pretty schmoopy. Warning for mentions of possible mpreg but no actual mpreg.
> 
> [A/B/O-verse primer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/403644); I am not 100% in agreement with this primer, but it serves its purpose for anyone unfamiliar with the concept!

Better Than Love

Liam noticed it first, at breakfast, but that wasn't unusual. He was always the first to notice when any of the boys' scent changed. Alpha nose, he supposed.

"Louis, you're coming down with something. A cold, I think."

Louis pulled a face; looked down at himself, then at Liam in outrage. "I'm fine!" But his reactions were a touch slower than normal, his eyes taking a second to focus, and anyway, his scent didn't lie. Liam always knew when one of the band were getting ill. Louis didn't smell quite the same as, say, Niall did when Niall was getting a cold, so Liam wasn't totally sure that was what it was, but scents differed boy to boy, and Louis didn't get ill that often anyway.

The back of his neck prickled uneasily. "Drink some orange juice," he ordered. "For Vitamin C."

"Alpha Liam, aw," said Harry, leaning back in his chair with a slow smile. "Taking care of us." Louis scowled a bit, but stole Zayn's orange juice and drank it obediently.

Liam sometimes felt a bit bad when he used what he called his _alpha voice_ to get the boys to do things; but he was the only alpha in a group of four unruly betas and it was, like, his biological imperative to order them around a bit. God knew somebody needed to.

Louis's energy levels wavered all day; he'd get manic for a while, bouncing around, then tired and really clingy, which was sweet but totally unhelpful when they were trying to give a radio interview and Louis had his arms wrapped around Liam's neck and his warm face shoved into his shoulder and had to be poked awake to give any answers, and he mostly sounded dazed and incoherent.

The hosts found it funny and sweet, but it was a bit much even for Louis, and Harry caught Liam's eye while Niall entertained the hosts with some rambling story about Mullingar. They'd discovered the a lot of American interviewers didn't seem to care what Niall talked about as long as he mentioned Irish place names every now and again.

"Alright," said Harry, when they came out of the interview, "Lou, you're having a nap as soon as we get back to the hotel."

"No," protested Louis, pushing himself off Liam and yawning hugely. His cheeks were flushed pink and his eyes were bright. "I'm fine, I feel fine. Really fine. You are all such worrywarts." He stretched then, rising up onto his tiptoes, lean body stretching up, thin strip of his belly and narrow ridge of his hipbones peeking out from under his top. It was usually an engraved invitation to poke Louis in the belly and make him gasp in outrage and double over; but Liam just sort of watched him, instead. His own head felt a bit thick and slow. He hoped he wasn't getting whatever Louis was.

He blinked. "Harry's right," he said, and Harry looked pleased. "You're going to bed when we get back. We have a phone conference with Simon at three but I can give him your apologies."

"Oh man," said Zayn, who hated phone conferences. "Liiiiam, I think I might be feeling--" he tried hopefully, but subsided grumpily when Liam raised an eyebrow at him.

\--

The phone conference was about as fun as could be expected, though a little calmer with just four of them. Liam felt prickly and restless afterwards, though, waved the others off when they invited him to Harry's room to watch a film.

He tried to settle in his own room, flipping rapidly through the channels on TV, but he didn't last very long before he went up to check on Louis. He just - it was practically his job to make sure he was okay.

He could smell him outside the room, halfway down the corridor. _Louis_. Thick and sweet smell, stronger than Liam had smelled before, and that wasn't normal. Liam walked faster, swiped his spare keycard in the door and pushed inside, frowning.

"Louis," he said, when he was inside, then had to stop and breathe in a few times. His head swam, and he closed the door behind him with a slam, harder than he'd intended. "Louis, what--"

"Liam," said Louis from the bed, sleepy and slow; rolling his head on the pillow. His eyes were bright. Then they widened and Louis sat up a bit, on his elbows. "Shit, Liam. You, er - you should probably. You should go."

Liam didn't mean to ignore him, but he was walking across the room before he could stop himself. Louis had the duvet bunched around his hips, his t shirt damp with sweat down the middle of his chest. "What's the matter with you?" 

Liam knew, though. Even if he'd never seen an omega in heat before, even if he wasn't looking for it because Louis was _beta_ , he recognised it somewhere deeper than that; his body knew the scent, knew the tug of a needy omega even if his mind hadn't quite worked it out yet.

Louis dropped down flat onto the bed. "Liam, it feels - weird. I'm--" he rubbed a hand over his face, the back of his hand looking pale against the hectic colour in his cheeks. "I reckon - ah, shit. I know. I'm in heat."

"But that - that's mad," said Liam, quietly. He was already leaning over Louis a bit, one hand gripping the headboard of the bed hard. "You're a beta."

"Well apparently not," said Louis a bit stroppily, shifting his shoulders against the bed, distracting and sinuous.

"Jesus, Louis! Didn't you get tested?"

Louis's eyes flew open from where they'd been sliding half closed. "Of course I did! When I was eleven, like everyone! It was inconclusive, so--"

Liam shut his eyes. So he was categorised as beta, because that's usually what inconclusive meant.

"It happens, Liam. Sometimes - it's latent. I didn't mean for--"

Liam opened his eyes quickly, patted clumsily at Louis's cheek with the hand not keeping him upright as he leaned over the bed. "I know. I know it does." Louis's eyes were big and bright and maybe a bit scared on his. "It's not your fault. It's okay. I'll - sort it out."

Louis laughed a little, leaning into the touch like a cat, and he relaxed, tightness leaving his eyes, like just Liam's touched calmed him. "I know you will. But, Liam--" he looked at Liam directly, then dragged his gaze slowly up and down in a way that made Liam's belly go hot. "I don't - I dunno. I really don't think either of us are gonna let you leave this room."

Omega pheromones - especially in heat - especially a first heat, especially late onset - were fucking powerful. Liam had had lectures and lessons and everything every Alpha had on categorisation, and he knew with the best will in the world, Louis was right. And - without the suppressants that omegas who knew what they were had on hand - It was going to hurt Louis, wanting it so badly and not getting it; it went against every instinct Liam had to let one of his boys hurt, but--

"I don't want to do this just because your body is saying so," he tried, closing his eyes. "I don't wanna be that Alpha. You know - takes advantage. Blames it on the heat or whatever. I don't - I absolutely can't have you hate me, after. I'd rather die." Which was perhaps a bit melodramatic, but everything in him that was Alpha - his protective instincts and his ridiculous sentimentality that he wished wasn't quite such a prominent trait in his own brand of Alpha personality - was roaring up in top gear, along with the gut-deep burn of arousal that the smell of Louis was dragging through him.

"Liam," said Louis. "I'm never going to hate you, you twat. Look at me, c'mon," he said, and Liam did. Which was probably a bad idea - his eyes were dark, all huge black pupil, and his mouth and cheeks were a damp glowing red, his hair darkened at the edges and sticking to his flushed skin. "You aren't _that Alpha_." He was breathing faster than normal, but he was lucid and so fucking _Louis_ as he rolled his eyes. "You could never be that Alpha. You're _my_ Alpha. I wouldn't have anyone else here."

That was it - Liam was done, with that. Because it was true, and there was no-one else in the world he would have let come in here and take care of Louis, once he knew what Louis was. This was - this was gonna change a lot of things, but all that mattered right now was that Louis was wanting; _wanting_ so bad it was gonna hurt soon, and Liam could help him. Because he was Louis's. And Louis was his, of course.

"Okay," he said. "Alright." Then he knelt down on the bed, knees digging into the mattress, and pushed his arms around Louis's slim back and hauled him upright; Louis came up in his arms, gasping, and sprawled into Liam as Liam tugged him into his lap. The duvet was caught between them, but he'd sort that out. He palmed Louis's shouderblades, feeling the crazy heat of him bleeding eagerly through his thin t shirt; he kept one hand there on Louis's back, holding him in place, and swept the other down Louis's back, under his arse. Louis had briefs on, his arse pert and tight under Liam's hand, and Liam squeezed. Louis moaned, a shocking hot noise into Liam's neck where he'd pressed his face.

"What's it like?" asked Liam, breathing going wobbly. "What's it feel like?"

Louis dragged his hot face across Liam's neck, sending jittery shivers down Liam's back and raising goosepimples along his shoulderblade and down his arm.

"Feels," Louis slurred, then breathed in, deep. "Feels like _everything_ feels good. Even the covers on the bed, even the fuckin' - sweat on my back. Each touch--"

Liam ran his hand in big, caressing sweeps over Louis's back, and Louis lost his words in a moan.

" _Yeah_ ," he got out. "And--"

"And?" prompted Liam.

"And like I - need you. All over me."

"Over?" said Liam, with a smirk. His face was hot and his heart was pounding, and he felt giddy, helpless under the onslaught of Louis, this lapful of hot, writhing omega boy. Louis's nose had traced a path from Liam's neck up under his jawline, and now Louis's mouth was fluttering at the line of Liam's jaw.

"Alright, Liam Payne," he said unevenly, "you got me. Want you inside me. It aches, and it's so wet, and it's telling me, screaming at me - get a _knot_ \--"

Liam kissed him, then; slotted his open mouth against Louis's mid sentence, let Louis spill the words right into his mouth. Slid his tongue into Louis's mouth, used his hand on Louis's jaw to angle him deeper into the kiss, press his mouth wider with his thumb at the join under his ear and his fingers on Louis's chin.

Louis was pliant and eager, letting Liam move him around; Liam held him in place with one hand slid round to cup the back of his head, and smoothed the other down Louis's spine - Louis arched catlike into it - and underneath his bum again, this time pressing his fingers into the cleft of his arse.

Louis shuddered, and cried out right into his mouth; his briefs were wet through with his slick, damp and clinging to Liam's finger and he scrabbled in deep, his fingers snubbing right up against Louis's arsehole.

He could feel the wet, puffy edges, and rubbed his fingers in hard, feeling crazy with it, swept along on the madness Louis's heat was swirling around the both of them.

Louis pulled back, mouth leaving Liam's with a wet noise, and stared at Liam for a moment, looking almost panicked, before he tipped his head back in, said "Oh - god, bloody, fuck, _Liam_ ," and bit down on the edge of Liam's jaw. His shuddered all over and his hips jerked forward into Liam hard, twice; then he slumped heavy, boneless and still blazing hot in Liam's lap.

"Did you just come," said Liam, breathlessly, disbelieving. "Oh my god, Lou."

He leaned forward, caught Louis in his arms and deposited him back on the bed, and braced himself over Louis as he tugged the tangled heap of the duvet out from between them and kicked it away. Louis was in his t shirt and boxer briefs; his dick was still hard, pushing his white briefs up obscenely, gone translucent around the mess of come at his cockhead.

Louis's mouth was open, eyes half closed, as he panted. "Not - not done, or anything," he said, squirming to start pulling his t shirt off. "Just - you just got the edge off."

Liam was still in his bloody jeans, and a tshirt with a shirt over it. He was so focused on Louis he'd barely even noticed himself; but sweat was soaking through his collar, and his dick was big and throbbing urgently, a hard fat line caught in his stupid too-tight jeans.

He tugged ineffectually at his tshirt with one hand, his flies with the other; then he shook his head in frustration. He pointed at Louis. "Don't go anywhere," he said. Louis stretched, arms going above his head, and he gave Liam the derisive look that probably deserved. Liam scrambled off the bed and finally got himself naked, biting his lip at the relief as his cock smacked free, slippery wet at the slit already and an low, thumping pulse threatening about the base where his knot would pop out. 

Louis made a noise, and his eyes were fixed on Liam's cock; everything went hot and tense, again. Liam climbed back on thr bed, watching Louis track each bounce of his dick. He got back on his knees, and tugged Louis's pants down and off; Louis's thighs were left splayed out on top of Liam's, his cock pink and slender, gleaming with come as it flexed against the flat plane of Louis's belly.

Louis bit his lip; closed his eyes and blew out a long breath. "Liam - Li - please."

"This what you need?" asked Liam, feeling mindless; feeling like bad porn dialogue; but Louis snapped his eyes open and caught Liam's. His legs shifted restlessly, thighs spreading wider, and again Liam could _smell_ it, the thick musk of come and slick and omega need coming from between Louis's legs.

"So badly, Liam," Louis said. "Come on, you have to."

"S'okay," said Liam, leaning forward, bending Louis's legs up towards his chest. "S'kay, I will. I'll give it to you; give you my knot." They both flinched when he said that; it was stupid and cheesy but it was _true_ and it made it so fucking hot. 

"Please," said Louis, fists clenching in the sheets like he hadn't just come, "Li, please."

Liam pressed into Louis further, caught Louis's open mouth in his on, and Louis's arse slid up his thighs the further he leaned in, legs forced wide. It was so close - Liam just needed to get his hand in between them and grab at his cock, grunting as he wrapped his fingers around the sensitive throbbing skin at the base. "Shit," he said, screwing his eyes shut; this was mad, his knot was threatening to pop out already, and he wasn't - god; he wasn't inside yet. Usually it took twenty minutes and really good porn and a _lot_ of lube for Liam to knot up when he was tossing off; but this was an omega - this was _Louis_ \- in heat, and his body was primed, ready to fucking blow.

He dragged his fingers up, away from the danger spot, to grip his swollen head, and get it in position; his wet cockhead bumped against the smooth curves of Louis's arse, and they both groaned. Louis reached back, pulled his cheeks apart, and his hole wet and gleaming, ready; Liam's dick twitched hard and drooled a wet pulse of precome, dripping onto Louis's skin; both of their bodies desperate for it, waiting for them to get it done.

"You sure," said Liam, knowing he couldn't stop, knowing he would, somehow, if Louis wanted. "God, Louis, you sure?"

Louis groaned, shaky and wrecked. "Don't--" he said, then sucked in a breath. "Don't ask--" His hole spasmed, spilling a wet mess of slick right onto Liam's dick. " _\--stupid fucking questions_ ," Louis finished off, then dug his heels into Liam's back and rolled his hips.

Liam moaned, screwing his eyes shut as his dick was forced into the clutch of Louis's arsehole, then forced them open again frantically, needing to see. Louis's hole opened to him easily, the blunt head of his dick shoving up against it; a slippery, slick push, and with a _give_ that tugged like a hook in his stomach, he went in.

Louis went silent and still as Liam pushed in, all the way in, Louis's body opening up sweetly for him. Louis was so wet, blazing hot, a slick sucking grip all along Liam's dick, taking him in like this was all he'd ever been made for.

"Oh," said Louis, softly, awed, once Liam was all the way in; his whole cock stuffed inside Louis and his swollen heavy balls nudging up against the curves of Louis's arse. Then Louis shuddered, all along his spine, and came again, clenching even tighter around Liam's cock; his own dick flexed and twitched, dribbles of sticky come pooling white and thick on his belly.

"Lou," said Liam, dizzy; he felt powerful and wanted and trusted, Louis letting him do this, Louis coming on his dick so bloody easy. His instinct kicked in, and he started fucking Louis properly, a deep, smooth rhythm that he controlled subconsciously,barely thinking; every primal drive in him geared towards fucking Louis well and proper. Louis's cock was still hard, and Liam felt fiercely desperate to see him come again, on his knot; to see how many times he could make Louis come, til he had nothing left to give, coming dry and delirious.

His thrusts went shallower, and he realised with a low thrum that he was going to knot, in a moment.

"I'm gonna--" he said, and Louis hissed, arched his head back into the pillow, fingers going tight again in the fistfuls of sheets he was anchoring himself with.

Liam shoved in deep and hard; then stayed there; started grinding his hips in tiny circles, breath going short, in staccato hard bursts. It was starting - _god_ \- the slow unlocking deep inside him, surging up into a roaring rush of pleasure as he swelled up, his knot plumping out inside Louis and his orgasm starting.

His arms trembled where he was braced over Louis, and he moaned, a rough noise from low in his throat as he knotted up all the way, big and hard inside Louis, tying them together; his swollen heavy balls pulled up, and he started coming, thick slow pulses of his come emptying steadily into Louis.

"Liam," said Louis, eyes open now, so blue, staring right up at him. He let go of the sheets and steadied his knees with his hands instead where they were forced up against his chest, their skin sliding unsteadily together. "Liam, I can feel you." He looked shocked with pleasure, shocked at the burst of endorphins that being knotted must have released in a burst to race through his system; a hot ball of tenderness fisted up fierce and tight in Liam's chest even as he struggled to focus on the long, slow waves of his orgasm as he kept on releasing into Louis. Louis sucked in a breath. "God, your knot."

"Yeah," gritted Liam. "Yeah, Lou, know you can. You gonna come on it for me?" He rolled his hips; only a small movement, but the infinitesimal shift of his sensitive fat knot inside Louis's clinging heat felt amazing, and it had the right effect on Louis, who moaned, spine arching up into it.

"Liam, oh, _shit_ ," he said, and Liam shifted again, breaking Louis off into ecstatic silence and yes - fuck, Louis came again, the ripple rolling through his body and a pathetic spurt of come dribbling from his slit.

Liam shifted them again, then; he leaned back, careful of where he was wedged inside Louis, and let Louis's legs slide down carefully; then gathered Louis up and hauled him up to sit on his lap, his legs sprawling either side of Liam's hips, sitting on Liam's knot. Gravity shoved Liam a tiny bit deeper, and they both made a noise; Liam shuddered, a fresh wave of come pulsing up into Louis.

Louis wrapped his arms loosely around Liam's neck, face hiding in the soft skin underneath Liam's jaw again. "How long?" he mumbled. "How long you gonna stay in me?"

"I - I dunno," said Liam honestly. He'd never knotted inside someone before, and it felt like nothing else, like no other orgasm he'd had. When he wanked off well enough to knot up, he could keep his knot fat and his orgasm going for maybe ten minutes; but he'd heard of heat coupling lasting hours. He didn't think it would be that long, but he felt nowhere near going down, yet, knot still throbbing as he pumped come. "Long as it takes. Long as --" he breathed in sharply, the idea hitting him like a punch. "Long as my body thinks it needs to knock you up."

It was rare to catch on a first-heat breeding in omegas, and either way, the first thing Liam would be doing once this was over, no matter how mortifying it might be, would be finding a handler and getting heat-strength morning-after drugs. But there was something unbelievably hot, like his body was responding before his brain could, to the idea that the reason - god, the reason they were doing this, the reason their bodies were like this, was so Liam could maybe knock Louis up.

"Shit," Louis groaned, and shifted restlessly on Liam's lap; his knot moved again, and Louis shoved his face into Liam's neck and came again with a sob, breath damp and hot against Liam's skin. Liam looked down, greedily taking in the sight of Louis coming on his knot; Louis's slit opening around nothing but a weak dribble of thin come; under Louis's small, tight balls, his could see the puffy edge of his arsehole, stretched around the bulge of Liam's knot just inside. He wrapped his arms around Louis's back and held him in place, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

It lasted over twenty minutes, in the end, until Liam felt the waves of pleasure start to recede, and his knot started to feel less huge. Louis had come two more times by then, dry and probably nearly painful in their pleasure, as he dug his sharp fingernails into Liam's back and murmured senselessly into Liam's neck.

"Lou," said Liam softly. "Lou, I think -- ungh," he said eloquently as his knot softened further and he could feel Louis's wet sloppy hole around him. This was going to get messy. "I think I'm done."

Louis made a low noise. "Took your time about it, Payne," he said sleepily, and lifted his head from Liam's neck to pull a face. "That feels--"

"Yeah," said Liam, apologetically. "Not as sexy in the aftermath, I reckon." He lay Louis down on the bed again, and they both made surprised noises - Louis's tinged with a bite of _ow!_ \- as Liam's knot tugged at Louis's rim. He held himself over Louis carefully and slipped his hand between them, eased his cock - his knot now down to a shallow sensitive swell pushing out the base of his dick - out of Louis, who hissed, then made a noise that was half relief and half disgust as a slow thick trickle of come started to roll out of him.

"Um," said Liam, thinking of twenty-plus minutes' worth sloshing inside Lou. "I'll get a towel." He hurried to the bathroom and came back, awkwardly trying to make Louis comfortable and put a towel under his bum. Louis snickered at him softly and Liam sat down on the bed. "Sorry," he said. "I'm a bit shit at this."

Louis groaned and batted a lazy hand against Liam's bare hip. "No you aren't. At what?"

Liam had to smile that Louis went to reassure him before he even knew what Liam was on about.

"Being an alpha. I'm supposed to like - take care of you, and I made you all sore and gross and uncomfortable and maybe it's weird now and--"

"Oh my god, Liam. Shut up. You're brilliant. And me? I just came like - seven hundred times on Liam Payne's knot. I am bloody _fantastic_."

"Yeah?" said Liam.

"Yeah. Come here, you numpty," said Louis, reaching out a lazy arm to hook around Liam's neck and pull him down.

Liam went with a grumble, mostly for show. He was pretty used to be being grabbed like a teddybear at any time of day or night, in this band. "I don't think omegas are meant to tug their alphas around," he said, but was grinning helplessly and Louis snuggled up to him.

"Well, I don't really care what omegas are supposed to do now I've had the fun part. Anyway. You love it," said Louis; voice slow, rough; fucked out and supremely confident.

"Hmm," murmured Liam, and wrapped an arm around Louis's slim shoulders, dragged him in closer.

"Li?" said Louis after a minute or two.

"Yeah?"

"This isn't gonna change things, is it?"

Liam shrugged, thought about it carefully. "Well, a bit. We need to tell the team, and get you on blockers after tonight, and suppressants for the future, and figure out if we want to tell people - I mean, the fans, or--"

Louis made an impatient noise. "Not like that. I mean - in the band. And - you and me."

"No," said Liam confidently. "Well - not in a bad way, anyway. You're - all of you are important to me, but I might - end up being more protective of you, by like, instinct. Tell me to stop being a twat if I do."

Louis snorted. "Like you could be any more protective of us all than you already are."

Liam shrugged. "Yeah, maybe," he allowed.

"And, like. This?"

"Hm?

"Ugh, Liam," said Louis. " _This_."

"Oh. Oh! Well, I mean. When you need it. Or - if you want it."

"Do you want it?"

Liam propped himself up then, looked down at Louis who was all feigned nonchalance. "Lou. You're like - gorgeous, you know that, and I just, like, knotted you for nearly half an hour and and it was the best--" Liam could feel himself go red. "So - yeah. I want to. Look," he said, wanting to clear away the doubt in the tilt of Louis's eyebrows. "I'm not going anywhere. Or letting you go anywhere. We'll figure it out." He said it with a confidence that he did really feel, because - they would. There wasn't an option, there wasn't a possibility it wouldn't work.

"Yeah, yeah," said Louis, but he looked reassured; and tired, now. They still both really needed a shower, and to start - actually dealing with this, but. Louis tugged him back in bossily for a bit more of a cuddle, which Liam was quite happy to indulge before they had to face the world.

"Daddy alpha Liam," Louis said around a yawn, "always taking care of us."

"Well, yeah," said Liam, settling in and feeling that big fist of tenderness loosen happily and settle inside his chest, with Louis curled up against him, safe and well-fucked, and the other boys in the same building, happy and nearby, all like it should be. "S'my job."


End file.
